Decentralized finance (DeFi) aims to recreate financial services on blockchain networks to make them more efficient, equitable, and secure. Find out our pick of the 13 Best DeFi projects that are gaining adoption.
Summary
Our review explores 13 best DeFi projects driving adoption across lending, trading, staking, and other areas:
- Aave for lending, Curve for stablecoin trading
- Uniswap is the most used DEX
- GMX for perpetual swaps, Synapse for cross-chain bridges
- Lido and Rocket Pool for liquid staking
- Radiant for multi-chain lending
- Chancer for prediction markets
- Metacade as a Web3 hub
- Pendle for yield exposure tools
- Gains Network for tokenized derivatives
- SushiSwap is an innovative DEX.
Key statistics highlight adoption, maturity, and momentum based on factors like total value locked, user activity, revenue growth, and development trajectory. While risks exist, these projects represent promising opportunities to improve financial services through blockchain technology, pending thorough due diligence.
Project Risk Analysis Models
As the number of best DeFi projects multiply, better frameworks are needed to analyze risks spanning smart contract code, token engineering, governance structures, and financial sustainability.
Emerging models combine multi-dimensional qualitative assessments with data-driven valuations of cash flow viability.
For example, Token Terminal provides in-depth analysis and risk ratings across code quality, decentralization, team connections, and monetary policy. Expect more advanced rating systems as the field matures.
Our Evaluation Criteria
We selected these 13 best DeFi projects based on several key criteria:
- Innovation – Unique value propositions and new takes on DeFi
- Adoption – User bases, total value locked, transaction volumes
- Tokenomics – Utility and incentive structures of native tokens
- Security – Code audits and hacking resilience
- Potential – Room for future growth and mainstream use cases
The Best DeFi Projects Comparison
| Project | Category | Main Benefits | Native Token |
| Aave | Lending | Leading lending platform with high liquidity | AAVE |
| Curve Finance | Decentralized Exchange | Top DEX for stablecoin trades with asset focus | CRV |
| Uniswap | Decentralized Exchange | Most popular DEX for retail and new listings | UNI |
| GMX | Derivatives Trading | Established leader in perpetual swaps platform | GMX |
| Synapse | Cross-Chain Bridge | Fast, inexpensive cross-chain transfers | SYN |
| Lido | Liquid Staking | Largest and most trusted liquid staking solution | LDO |
| Rocket Pool | Liquid Staking | Decentralized liquid staking with higher yields | RPL |
| Radiant Finance | Lending | Bridging-based lending across multiple chains | RDNT |
| Chancer | Prediction Markets | Early mover in blockchain prediction markets | CHANCER |
| Metacade | Community Hub | Rapidly emerging Web3 community metaverse hub | MCADE |
| Pendle Finance | Yield Aggregator | Novel yield exposure management tools | PENDLE |
| Gains Network | Derivatives Trading | Access to tokenized traditional asset derivatives | GNS |
| SushiSwap | Decentralized Exchange | Leading decentralized exchange and yield farm | SUSHI |
What is a DeFi Project?
DeFi projects are peer-to-peer interactions without traditional intermediaries like banks or brokers.
DeFi projects aim to democratize finance, enhance financial freedom and privacy, and circumvent censorship. Most issue a native cryptocurrency token. As of 2024, DeFi is a $50+ billion market, with the Ethereum blockchain dominating as the most widely used infrastructure.
Why Invest in a DeFi Project?
There are several reasons to consider investing in DeFi projects:
Exposure to Innovative, High-Growth Sector
DeFi represents the cutting-edge of finance, leveraging blockchains to reimagine core services in open, efficient, and accessible ways. The sector is primed for mainstream growth.
Passive Income Opportunities
Many DeFi protocols enable earning yield through staking tokens, supplying liquidity, or lending. This provides a way to generate cash flow from idle digital assets.
Token Growth Potential
Tokens of DeFi projects that achieve adoption tend to appreciate in value, offering potential price upside for investors. Tokens may also provide governance rights.
Access to Unique Financial Services
DeFi opens the door to innovative financial tools not possible with traditional finance, like flash loans, self-repaying loans, composable money legos, and more.
Participation in Decentralized Governance
Holding a DeFi project’s token often confers voting rights to shape the future direction of the protocol, empowering users and communities.
However, DeFi is still nascent and carries risks related to smart contract exploits, regulatory uncertainty, and volatile crypto markets that investors must weigh carefully.
The Best 13 DeFi Projects That Worth To Invest in 2024, And Why
Aave – Leading DeFi Lending & Borrowing
Aave is a decentralized lending platform enabling crypto-backed loans and interest yield on deposits. With $6.4 billion total value locked across 7 chains, Aave offers the highest liquidity and asset variety for lending/borrowing.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in Aave?
Its dominance, variety of over 70 collateral options, and feature set, including flash loans, make Aave a low-risk way to gain exposure to the expanding DeFi lending/borrowing vertical. AAVE token holders also receive discounted fees and governance rights.
Curve – Top Decentralized Exchange
Curve is a DEX optimized for stablecoin trading using algorithms to minimize slippage and bootstrap liquidity. It handles $1 billion in daily volume and has attracted $15 billion in total value locked.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in Curve?
As decentralized exchanges expand, Curve’s specialization gives it an enduring edge. Its CRV token rewards liquidity providers with trading fees and governance potential as institutional interest is surging.
Uniswap – The Gateway DEX
Uniswap pioneered automated market making protocols. With over 150 million swaps processed worth $660 billion, it is the most used DEX and prime exchange for new listings.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in Uniswap?
With deep integration across wallets and 150+ DeFi apps, Uniswap is the gateway exchange driving retail DeFi adoption. UNI has intrinsic value expected to persist even as the DEX vertical sees rising competition.
GMX – Leading Perpetuals Exchange
GMX enables up to 50x leverage trading on perpetual swaps for major crypto assets. With $126 billion value locked and 309K+ active traders monthly, it oversees $1.4 billion in monthly volume.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in GMX?
Perpetuals trading drives platform income, and with deep liquidity pools already built, first-mover advantage makes GMX’s growth runway substantial as it monetizes via token buybacks.
Synapse Protocol – Top Cross-Chain Bridge
Synapse Protocl enables seamless asset transfers between blockchains to access liquidity and applications. With 15,000+ active users monthly, it has bridged $121 million in assets across 10+ networks.
Key statistics:
Why Invest In Synapse?
Cross-chain interoperability unlocks the true potential of DeFi. As blockchain networks grow more specialized, Synapse’s bridging utility ONLY increases over time.
Lido Finance – Leading Liquid Staking
Lido Finance enables staking crypto to earn yields without locking assets. With 150,000+ active users monthly, Lido has staked over $15 billion in ETH, offering 5.4% APY to depositors.
Key statistics:
- 20.83B total value locked
- $15B+ ETH staked
- 150K+ monthly users
- 5.4% APY staking rewards
- Leading staking solution
Why Invest in Lido?
By making staking liquid and accessible for Billions in assets, Lido’s innovation is indispensable for proof-of-stake blockchains. As use expands, LDO captures highly scalable value.
Rocket Pool – Decentralized Staking Marketplace
Rocket Pool enables running Ethereum staking nodes with only 16 ETH deposits. It also provides liquidity by letting users earn staking yields without locking assets.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in Rocket Pool?
Well-designed architecture makes Rocket Pool a lower-risk way to earn yield on ETH. As major institutions enter staking, Rocket Pool’s value accrues via RPL incentives and protocol fees.
Radiant Finance – Cross-Chain DeFi Loans
Radiant connects isolated DeFi lending markets across chains using asset-backed tokens for multi-chain collateral and yields.
Key statistics:
- $17M borrowed, $62M supplied
- 2,300+ monthly users
- Up to 15% borrow APY
- Expanding platform integration
Why Invest in Radiant?
Truly chain-agnostic borrowing/lending requires bridging solutions. By expanding liquidity using bridges, Radiant carves out a defensible, high-growth niche going forward.
Metacade – Community-Owned Metaverse Hub
Metacade delivers play-to-earn gaming, events, networking, education, and a community launchpad for funding next-gen Web3 games.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in Metacade?
The intersection of gaming, blockchain, and metaverse communities makes Metacade a project to watch as it practically encapsulates the crypto growth thesis – owned by users who collectively benefit most.
Pendle Finance – Multi-Dimensional Yield Exposure
Pendle enables advanced yield-generating strategies by splitting yield-bearing tokens into their tokenized principal value and interest yield.
Key statistics:
- $112M market capitalization
- $300M+ total value locked
- Unique tokenization model
- Advanced DeFi concept with traction
Why Invest in Pendle?
Unique tokenized design brings sophisticated tools resembling traditional derivatives to DeFi, where Pendle has first-mover advantage in a sector with immense upside as yield aggregation matures.
Gains Network – Tokenized Asset Derivatives
Gains issues tokenized derivatives enabling leveraged trading on traditional stocks, forex, commodities and indices through perpetual swaps.
Key statistics:
- $121M market capitalization
- Access to leveraged asset trading
- Up to 150x margin trading
- Early DeFi derivatives developer
Why Invest in Gains Network?
By merging CeFi and DeFi, Gains taps into a $100 trillion derivatives market. Its perpetual swaps model is poised to attract liquidity as asset tokenization via oracles gains reliability.
SushiSwap – Leading DEX & Yield Farm
SushiSwap is a top DEX offering trading and yield farming with over $1 billion value locked currently. It pioneered innovations like liquidity provider rewards.
Key statistics:
Why Invest in SushiSwap?
Despite high competition, SushiSwap maintains leadership with established liquidity and tokenomics rewarding liquidity providers. Development is accelerating across blockchain ecosystems to deepen yield strategies.
Our Top Recommended DeFi Project to Invest
While many compelling DeFi projects exist, our top recommendation for 2024 is Aave.
Here’s why we believe Aave is well-positioned:
- Dominant player in DeFi lending/borrowing with over $9.4B in total value locked (TVL)
- Offers highest liquidity and variety with support for 70+ assets as collateral
- Robust track record, with $30B+ originated since launch and just one minor exploit
- Innovative features like flash loans and rate switching that expand use cases
- Strong token utility with fee discounts, staking rewards, and governance rights
Aave has established itself as the go-to decentralized liquidity protocol. Its V3 launch across 10 chains solidified market leadership. With institutional DeFi taking off, Aave is primed to ride the wave with its battle-tested security, rich features, and vibrant ecosystem. However, all investments carry risk and require due diligence.
How to Invest in a DeFi Project
Investing in DeFi might sound complex, but it can be done in a few simple steps:
- Set up a crypto wallet like MetaMask to securely store your digital assets. Fund it by purchasing coins like Ethereum on an exchange.
- Research DeFi projects based on your goals, such as lending, trading, or staking. Look for credible teams, technical audits, and clear token economics.
- Visit the project’s website or app and connect your wallet. You may need to swap your ETH for the project’s token to use the protocol.
- Allocate funds, but start small as you learn. Strategies include staking, lending, liquidity mining, or simply holding the token.
- Monitor your investments using portfolio trackers and stay up to date on project developments and market conditions.
DeFi investing ultimately requires proactive research and risk management given the technology’s immaturity, smart contract risks, and regulatory uncertainty. But for those willing to learn, it offers innovative ways to access unique financial services.
Conclusion
The transformation of finance by blockchain is accelerating, making DeFi protocols like these investment opportunities with sizable long-term upside if executed well. However, conducting due diligence is crucial before investing, given smart contract risks and token design pitfalls in such a cutting-edge domain. By identifying the most credible projects in terms of community, transparency, and vision, returns can potentially be massive, given the scale of the value proposition.
